Nightmare
by TheFluffyPrince
Summary: Makoto's worse nightmare is seeing his best friend die in the ocean.


**A/N: So, I saw this prompt on tumblr where Makoto is having a nightmare about Haruka drowning. So, I decided to go ahead and write it up. **

**Warning: Mentions of drowning, **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Free!/Swimming anime**

* * *

The storm outside was raging dangerously, the wind rocking the tent harshly. It almost seemed as though the tent was going to uproot itself and fly off into the distance, if it wasn't for the fact that Makoto was used to fixing up tents to endure strong storms such as this. However, that didn't stop him from jumping up in fear every time that thunder rumbled around him. His heart was pounding in his chest, vibrating his entire body.

Clenching his fists in the sheets, Makoto turned his body around and laid himself on his side. There was no point in staying up while the storm went on around him. It would just end up with him worrying way too much. So, moving his legs a little bit in the sheet to get comfortable, Makoto let his eyes fall shut to go back to sleep. However, something kept him up and he furrowed his eyebrows in discomfort before opening his eyes. He expected to look right at Haruka's sleeping face, only to be met with the other side of the tent.

Lifting himself up, Makoto noticed the empty spot next to him. Placing his hand down on the spot and feeling around, Makoto looked back and forth in the entire tent. Eyebrows flying up in horror, his breath picked up for a moment. Haruka wasn't in the makeshift bed. In fact, he wasn't in the tent to begin with.

The sound of thunder crashing in the distance drew his attention away from Haruka's spot and he used the lightning that flashed across the sky to try and look around the tent. A look of horror came to his face as he realized that Haruka's bag was open, his swimming suit missing. The other male hadn't brought much, just a few changes of clothes, his towel, and his swimsuit. Everything was present, save for the latter.

"Haruka?!" Makoto called out over the storm, moving to open the flap to the tent.

Immediately after opening it, water and wind assaulted his face, with a lightning strike blinding him as it flashed across the sky. Grimacing, he quickly stepped out into the harsh rain, not caring that he was getting soaked. Running down the beach until his feet touched the water, Makoto gazed over the rough waters in front of him, trying to spot a sign of the familiar mop of navy hair. For a moment, he couldn't spot anything, which just made his heart hammer in his heart quickly.

"Haruka! Haruka, are you out there?!" Makoto screamed out, his hands framing his mouth.

For a moment, things were silent save for the noises of the storm. But then, he heard a small cry, almost consumed by the large waves and the thunder echoing every few seconds. But his ears had caught it before that point. And immediately after, he saw a hand waving in the water. Narrowing his eyes, Makoto stared at the hand for a moment before he saw the body that it was attached to.

Haruka.

"_HARUKA!"_ Makoto screamed in horror, his voice cracking.

Without any more hesitation, Makoto rushed out into the water, ripping off his shirt and diving into the cold water. His body immediately started shivering and protested the sudden temperature change, but he didn't care at the moment. The only thing that mattered was trying to get back Haruka before he ended up drowning. He didn't question why Haruka was even out in the ocean in the first place, nor why there was a storm all of a sudden.

The only thing that mattered was Haruka.

Swimming through the water with strength and speed that he didn't know that he possessed, Makoto quickly reached the spot where he believed that he had seen Haruka. But there was no sign of his friend. His arms and legs kicked through the water to try and keep himself above water, but it was hard when the waves seemed to get rougher and rougher by the second. "Haruka!" Makoto called out, water falling from his face.

His vision was getting cloudy and it was getting harder to see through all of the rain. If he ended up staying in the water any longer, he'd end up drowning. Just the thought of drowning in the ocean, where no one would probably find him...it made him fearful. His heart was pounding rapidly in his chest at this point and it was getting hard to breath. But he had to hold on. He needed to find Haruka first.

So, continuing on with his search, Makoto pushed himself some more, even though his entire body was screaming at him to rest. His legs and arms were throbbing from being overworked and his chest felt constricted.

Turning his body left and right to try and spot Haruka, his eyes widened as he saw something floating in the water a few feet away from where he was at the moment. Makoto steeled himself and swam towards the mysterious object, hoping dearly that it was Haruka and not some animal that would end up attacking him.

Once he was close enough to touch the object, a sigh of relief left his mouth as he saw that it was Haruka. Reaching out, he grabbed the other male's arm and pulled him close to his body, holding him tightly before getting himself together. The waves were much larger than the ones over near the surface, so it was harder for him to swim through. However, he quickly looked around and noticed a large wave coming towards them, heading right towards the shore. If he could time the wave just right...

Turning his back towards the wave, Makoto began swimming towards the surface, one arm still clutched tightly around his friend's body to keep him from falling back into the water. He could feel the wave getting closer to them and he mentally prepared himself for the impact. His mind was screaming at him to stop, that this was a stupid idea that would end up getting them both killed. He gazed over his shoulder again, noticing that the wave was just a few feet away from them.

Body tensing in expectation, Makoto tightened his grip around Haruka's waist before they were lifted up into the water thanks to the wave. But instead of being pushed forward by the water, they were instantly pulled back by the force of the wave. Gasping widely, Makoto flung his hand out to try and claw his way out, but the current was much to power for him to break free. So, he had no choice but to watch in horror as the wave swallowed them both up, the current ripping the two males away from each other.

Makoto's eyes widened and he tried looking around to spot Haruka through the rough waters, but he couldn't see anything. There were too many bubbles and the moving water moved him in a way that made it near impossible to see anything. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and his lungs were burning, demanding that he get air immediately. However, he had no sense of what was up and what was down. All that he knew was that the current was dragging him through the water, far away from the shore.

Unable to do anything but let the current carry him through the water, Makoto fought to hold his breath as long as he could. However, after a minute passed by, his lungs were burning and his chest was throbbing. Growing dizzy, Makoto sluggishly moved through the water, trying to get towards the surface. He shot his hand upward, propelling himself up slightly through the water. However, that didn't help much, since he ended up opening his mouth when the pressure in his chest grew too great for him to deal with.

Water immediately began funneling into his mouth, causing him to cough and sputter as it all rushed down his throat. Tears prickled at the edges of his eyes, although they mingled together with the water around him. As more and more water went into his body, Makoto felt himself growing heavier and heavier. He was slowly sinking into the ocean, his limbs kicking and flailing halfheartedly. His body was sluggishly slowly down and everything was starting to black out in his mind.

Unable to do anything to stop himself from drowning, Makoto found himself opening his eyes, regardless of the salt that stung his eyes. His fingers twitched at the mild pain, although most of his body was numb at that point. As he looked around him, Makoto noticed something floating just a few feet away from him. At first, it was an unidentifiable object, just floating around in the water. But as it got closer due to the waves, Makoto felt himself freeze in horror.

H-Haruka...Haruka was-

No. No no no no...there was no way-

NO!

Makoto shouted mentally as he struggled to move his body. However, he was unable to move at that point, due to all the water funneling into his body. Nothing would work like he wanted and the more that he tried moving around, the more tired that he felt. More tears came to his eyes as he watched his friend's body floating around in the water, completely unconscious by the looks of it. Dead, his mind supplied to him. Makoto pushed that thought out of his mind immediately, refusing to think of the other male as dead. Haruka practically lived in water. For him to die in the ocean...it was unfounded. It was impossible.

It hurt Makoto more than anything.

He had sworn to protect Haruka from anything, even water if he had to. And instead of doing that, he ended up drowning himself and his friend in the process. He knew this trip had been a bad idea. Even Haruka had given him a way out. But instead of following his gut, he had given in to everyone's wishes. And now, they were paying the price.

And what hurt him the most was that Haruka ended up in this mess. All because of him...

* * *

Makoto shot up in a flash, hand coming to his chest. He was breathing harshly, tears falling from his eyes as his eyes adjusted to the minimal light around. Blinking for a moment, he gazed around the tent for a moment, letting his body slowly recover. It took a few moments for his mind to catch up with his body, still stuck in that nightmare that he had experienced. But once it had, he found himself slowly relaxing.

It was just a nightmare. A product of his overactive imagination.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Makoto slowly lowered himself back down onto the bed and shut his eyes. The amount of relief in his body couldn't even begin to be described as he let himself settle down. The dream...nightmare...it had been so real. It had felt so real. He had actually thought that Haruka had gone out into the ocean in the middle of a storm and ended up drowning. The guilt that he had felt in his nightmare transferred over now that he was awake. Even though none of it had been real, he couldn't help but feel like it was still his fault that a situation like that had been open to happen in the first place.

Bringing a hand to his face, Makoto rubbed his cheeks ferociously before looking over towards where Haruka was asleep.

Or...where he was supposed to be sleeping.

Eyes widening, Makoto stared at the empty spot beside him like it was some kind of monster. His breathing picked up immediately and he could feel a coldness settle in his veins. No...nonono, it had just been a nightmare. None of it had been real!

Moving quickly, Makoto ripped open the tent and crawled out, sand digging into his flesh as he ran across the beach. The night was calm on the beach, the moon shining down gently on the sea. But that didn't matter for Makoto at the moment. Right now, he was worried about Haruka. He didn't spot the other male anywhere on the beach, nor in the water.

Heart racing in his chest, Makoto ripped off his shirt and jumped into the water, swimming out a few feet into the water before he broke through the surface, looking around desperately. Tears prickling at the edges of his eyes, Makoto brought his hands up and took in a deep breath. "Haruka! Haruka, where are you?!" he called out hysterically.

"Why are you shouting?"

Makoto jumped and yelped loudly, his foot slipping in the wet sand under the water. Catching himself before he ended up falling into the water, Makoto looked over to where Haruka was floating on the surface of the water. His friend was staring back at him with a blank expression on his face. However, there was a bit of concern shining in his eyes and his mouth was downturned slightly. He watched as his friend stood up in the water, brushing his wet bangs from out of his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked simply, walking up to him and looking him right in the eyes.

Mouth opening and closing, Makoto felt himself flushing under the moonlight. He coughed awkwardly and bowed his head down, trying to hide his embarrassment. His mind was still working overtime, trying to catch up with the fact that Haruka wasn't actually drowning out in the ocean. He had only been floating. Plus, he had been near the shore, unlike in his dream, where he was out in the deep. He wasn't submerged underwater, dull eyes staring into his own...

A choked breath left Makoto's mouth and before he could stop himself, he drew Haruka into a tight hug. A soft grunt left his friend's mouth and for a moment, he tensed in his grip. However, that didn't stop Makoto from hugging him. If anything, that encouraged him to hug him even tighter. He could both feel and hear Haruka's groans of distaste against his chest, but that still didn't change matters for him.

"Makoto...," Haruka trailed off, sighing softly while they stood in the water.

"J-just...just let me hold you Haru. Please," Makoto begged just as softly, letting out a shuddering breath and shutting his eyes as the tears in his eyes finally decided to fall.

Haruka didn't say anything for several moments, choosing instead to stare at Makoto's chest, where his face was still being held against. After a few more moments of just being hugged, Haruka sighed and wrapped his arms around his friend, hugging him back. He had no idea what spurred Makoto's sudden breakdown, but he wouldn't question it at the moment. That could be done at a later date.

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**A/N: Well, I'm not quite as happy with this story, but I suppose that it's decent enough. :c**


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